Once upon a time, in a faraway land,
lived chivalrous heroes on endless quests
to rescue their damsels in distress.
It was a time of "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge,
giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles."
S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
is just one of many literary works that perpetuates
the prevailing romanticized view of
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
This is, of course, The Princess Bride,
abridged by William Goldman in 1973.
Seeing that the original Florinese classic has been caught up in "legal conflict,"
we’ll be focusing on the abridged edition and its corresponding film adaptation.
In combining various elements of the quintessential fairy tale,
The Princess Bride appears to be set in its own unique place and time,
but we can learn more about its historical context
by examining the development of Medieval romance
and the overall influence of Medieval literary culture in European history.
“Let me explain.
No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”
These days, the word “romance” conjures up
thoughts of love stories or relationships, generally of an idyllic type.
But in medieval use, especially during the twelfth century,
romance referred to narrative compositions that were written in the vernacular,
including Italian, English, and so on.
Interest in secular literature among the wealthy and aristocratic
resulted in writings that were accessible to a broader public.
This meant that books about exciting adventures,
ancient love stories, and heroic battles
became especially popular from the 1100s onwards.
Medieval literary culture was as much about listening as it was about reading.
The frame narrative, that is, a story within a story,
served as a way to depict oral storytelling in writing.
The Princess Bride, in both its literary and film forms,
also partakes in this age-old storytelling tradition.
“It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick,
and I used to read it to your father.
And today, I'm gonna read it to you.”
Medieval romances have often been categorized into three major cycles,
or groups of stories based on the same essential narrative.
There is the "Matter of Rome",
which encompassed retellings of myths and legends from classical antiquity.
Then, there is the "Matter of Britain",
referring to stories of Celtic and English background,
but especially concerning Camelot, King Arthur, and the knights of the round table.
And third, the "Matter of France",
which included stories about Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers, or paladins.
Although medieval romances had antecedents in Greek romances
and later, Latin narrative fiction, the distinctive genre was developed
in the context of medieval aristocratic society
and was thus characterized by its expectations of chivalry.
The themes in medieval romance
often dealt with the chivalric knightly ideal
in which courtly love and honor serves as the motivation.
“True love...”
"True love. You heard him.
You could not ask for a more noble cause than that."
By the late Middle Ages,
the world of chivalry was being described and recorded in all types of literary forms,
presenting this model form of behavior on which individuals might base their own lives.
Historians, however, have since found that these accounts about the system of chivalry
were more expectation than reality.
“I must know."
"Get used to disappointment."
The romantic view of medieval times
was later enhanced by eighteenth and nineteenth century Romantics.
Just as medieval writers had done,
these artists, poets, and novelists
reimagined historical events and stories with their own contemporary viewpoints.
In making anachronistic alterations and adding irrational plot points,
incredible settings, and impossibly perfect characters,
the retold stories captivated audiences
and created nostalgia for a time that only ever existed in their imaginations.
The Princess Bride is itself another reimagining of medieval motifs
as told through a modern lens,
continuing the tradition of repetition and adaptation
that was central to storytelling throughout the Middle Ages.